Ghostlore – Greyfriars Bobby and the Horror of the Kirkyard
Bobby. A waggy tail, a wet nose and a devoted heart… From beyond the grave…
In the heart of Scotland’s capital city lies a place of grim reputation: Greyfriars Kirkyard, sometimes called Greyfriars Cemetery. It is a site steeped in history, brimming with tales of terror - yet also home to a story of spectral devotion.
Greyfriars is a kirk, or church, located at the southern edge of Edinburgh’s Old Town. Burials have taken place there since the 16th century, with many notable figures finding their final resting place within its grounds. The name Greyfriars comes from the Franciscan friary that once stood at the location until its dissolution in 1562. The friars were known for their grey habits, which gave rise to the title.
The story of Greyfriars Bobby is one of the city’s most famous. Bobby was a Skye Terrier who belonged to a night watchman named John Gray. He was often seen loyally walking at the man’s side as he patrolled Edinburgh’s dark streets of an evening. Sadly, John died in 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Yet this was not the end of Bobby’s tale. The little dog, devastated by the loss of his master, remained faithfully by his grave, braving Scotland’s winds, rains, and winters for 14 years. He survived thanks to the kindness of townsfolk who fed him. Bobby became a local celebrity, so beloved that even the Lord Provost of Edinburgh paid for his dog licence when the law demanded he have one. When Bobby himself died in 1872, he was buried just inside Greyfriars, near the gates. His story is immortalised in books, films, and by the statue that still stands at the Kirkyard’s entrance.
Even today, witnesses claim to see this hirsute little spectre, roaming amongst the graves or sitting faithfully at his master’s resting place. Visitors and night-watchmen have reported the faint patter of paws on cobblestones or the soft bark of a terrier -though no living dog is in the area.
But Greyfriars is also home to darker phenomena.
George “Bluidy” Mackenzie was Lord Advocate, the principal legal advisor to the Scottish government. He was held responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Presbyterian Covenanters. After they were defeated at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679. Some of the men were imprisoned within Greyfriars Kirkyard itself - herded like cattle into an enclosure and left to suffer in appalling conditions.
When Mackenzie died, he was laid to rest in a grand baroque mausoleum. For centuries, his spirit lay quiet, but in the 1990s a tramp - or perhaps a group of schools boys playing truant - broke into his tomb. From that moment, reports of violent disturbances began. By 2006, records documented over 400 poltergeist attacks linked to the mausoleum, including one death: that of a medium who suffered a fatal heart attack after a supposed encounter with the spirit.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, my friend. I hope you found it enjoyable. If you like folktales or scary stories, why not try my audiobook Fireside Horror? It is wonderfully narrated by the talented voice actor Aubrey Parsons, and is the perfect thing to listen to as the cold, dark nights draw in. Link below:
Stay Spooky.
Sources
Jan-Andrew Henderson - The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the Mackenzie Poltergeist (2001 Random House)
Wikipedia
“The Grim, Ghostly History of Scotland’s ‘Most Haunted Graveyard’” from Mental Floss.com
Jan Bondeson, Greyfriars Bobby: The Most Faithful Dog in the World (Amberley Publishing, 2011)
